September 2013

Planters Punchlines

Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield

September 2013

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Garden Club Kicks off 2011-12 Season

Monday Sept. 23 @ 7:00 p.m. Pitkin Community Center

"What Happens in Iowa, Stays in Iowa – Or Not"

The September program will be given by our own Richard Prentice, who will tell us what he did on his summer vacation. Seriously, he joined a group of cyclists who travelled across Iowa! And while he has the floor, I'm sure he'll remind us all to pay our dues!

Open to the public – bring a prospective member!

2013-2014 Club Officers

President:  Tony Sanders              
Vice President:  John Swingen Jr.

Secretary: James Sulzen                
Treasurer:  Richard Prentice

Compostable Matter

By Jim Meehan

Okay.  So, just like all of us do, you go to the health club every day where you spend at least sixty minutes doing a combination of cardio exercises (sprinting on the treadmill, cranking away on the elliptical, spinning your buns off on the stationary bike), and strength (free weights, chin-ups, pushups, flys, dead lifts) topped off by some power yoga for balance and flexibility.

       
And you garden.

       

So, like me, you’ve got to wonder – does the gardening count as a workout?

      

 (Ignore the irony of the question.  The reason that we 21st century people are going to gyms at all is, of course, because we don’t get anywhere near as much physical activity in our every day lives as our ancestors who spent their days horticulturing did.)

       

Anyway – can gardening be the means to a leaner, meaner body?

       

“No way!” says at least one Personal Trainer.

       

“To better understand just how effective gardening is as a form of exercise, let's consider just who can garden. Or better yet-who can't.

      

 “Not many people can't garden. This says something right off the bat. If just about all populations can perform a particular activity, its challenge to the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems is quite minimal.

       

“Gardening is popular among people of retirement age. Also, even people with severe mobility issues can garden. Gardening is busy work. It requires attention to detail, focus, knowledge and patience. It produces relaxation, the satisfaction of a job well-done, and chemical-free vegetables or fragrant flora. Gardening exercises the mind more than the cardio and musculoskeletal systems.”

       

“Peh!” I say.  Obviously this apartment-living city-dweller has absolutely no idea how physically demanding gardening work can be – especially if it is done right, or more accurately if it is done in the most difficult way possible.

       

Take for example lawn maintenance.  Hop onboard the riding mower, turn the key, and tool around the property.  Zero calories calorie burn, zero raise in heart rate, zero muscle strain.

       

But do the same job on-foot pushing a self-propelled mower and, according to the super-scientifically accurate calculator I found on the Internet, you burn 386 calories per hour (if you weight 183 pounds – a number I just pulled out of the air).  BTW you can use up roughly the same number of calories/hour by raking up the mess afterwards.

       

Take away the self-propulsion – like my Toro “Self Pace” model – and the weight loss increases by 104 calories.  (I really like the marketing folks at Toro who came up with a spiffy name for a feature that is essentially the lack of a feature.)

       

Now try the same job with a forty-year old mower motor that refuses to turn over until somewhere between the thirty-fourth and fifty-ninth pull on the starter rope – on a good day.  You can actually feel your arm getting stronger, and longer, with every tug you take.  Alternate your arms for a more complete workout and to avoid the need for custom made long-sleeve shirts.  To get even more out of this exercise, disconnect the spark plug and/or empty the gas tank.

       

And how about watering?

       

In-ground sprinkler = 0 calories.   Above ground sprinkler = 1.  Standing and spraying = 1.5.  But what about watering cans?

       

There is a famous Zen saying, "Before Enlightenment chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water." What’s it mean?  Who knows?

       

Anyway, from another Internet source at least as trustworthy as the above calorie calculator, here is the “Red Can Watering Exercise.”  (My watering pails are orange so I’m probably not getting the full benefit, but nonetheless…)

       

“First get two red 10 L watering cans. (Red watering cans work best but any other color will work too!) Gently raise them up and walk 150 yards to the water supply. Bend and stretch while slowing allowing your can to fill up. Raise and put can down. Repeat with the other can.

       

“Once full point both cans in the same direction to balance out, then return the 150 yards to where your veg plot (or flower plot if you prefer). Drop down the can using a side motion. Then walk to the first bed raise the can above the plants. With a slow side-to-side motion cover the plants in water. If you need to you can support the bottom of the can.

       

“Repeat this with the other can.

      

 “Once the cans are empty gently bend to pick them up. Repeat the whole process another 12 to 14 times each day or every other day for maximum effect.

       

“In a few weeks you will lose weight and have lots of veggies.

      

 “If you need to warm up first, do so by walking a mile or so to the plot. Always consult your doctor before taking any exercise. They will probably say ‘whatever’ and shrug their shoulders - but do it anyway!”

       

Next month – aerobic and acrobatic exercises anyone can do with an 8 ?” Japanese pruning saw, and an eighty foot oak tree.

Guarding the Garden Toad from Harm

By Lois Tilton (LTilton) www.davesgarden.com

By consuming thousands of insects and other pests during the course of a season, the toad is one of the best helpers a gardener can have. Unfortunately, the gardener can be the toad's worst enemy.

       

Every spring, as the ground begins to warm up, I wait for the toads to begin singing down at the pond.  Sometimes, when they are late emerging from hibernation, I worry.  Existence is perilous for a toad.  Environmental degradation has caused amphibian populations worldwide to decline.  Closer at hand, the toads must face the effects of drought in the dwindling pond, and predators, including a burgeoning population of voracious bullfrogs.  The children's book notwithstanding, Bullfrog and Toad are not really friends!

       

The toads that sing in the pond at the edge of my property are the American toad, Bufo americanus.  The details in this article refer to this species, but they may apply to any member of the genus Bufo.  The American toad's skin is mottled,  usually brown with darker spots, and quite warty.  A large female may grow to as much as 4 inches in length.  Like many other members of this genus, it exudes a bufotoxin that coats its skin and makes it unpalatable to many predators [although not bullfrogs].  It is by any measure a common toad, the most widespread species in North America.   While B americanus is not threatened or endangered in its range, individual populations can be put at risk by many local factors.

       

Most threatening are the effects of human activity.  The gardener, who stands to benefit so much from the industry of the toad, can inadvertently do it more harm than any other agency.  The toad's usefulness in the garden is measured by its diet.  It exists primarily on common garden pests, such as slugs, grubs, snails, sowbugs, earwigs, cutworms, and destructive caterpillars.  With its long, sticky tongue, B americanus is a successful predator that can eliminate as many as ten thousand of these undesirables in a growing season.

       

To safeguard the toad, it is important to understand its life cycle.  Many people mistakenly believe the toad is an aquatic or semi-aquatic animal, like the frog, but for most of its life the toad is terrestrial.  Only in spring, emerging from hibernation, does it make its way to the shallow edge of the pond to spawn.  Toads prefer to return to the same body of water where they themselves were spawned, and may travel up to a mile to reach it. There, at night and sometimes during warm rainy days, the males begin their chorus of song to attract females.   

The male tightly grasps the female, who then releases her long strings of gelatinous black eggs into the water to be fertilized by the male.  Each female can lay several thousand eggs that hatch into tadpoles within ten days or less, depending on the temperature of the water.  It can take one to two months for the tadpoles to develop into toads;  during this phase, they are entirely aquatic and highly vulnerable to contamination of the water, as well as predation by such creatures as bullfrogs.  It is a profligate survival strategy;  out of the thousands of eggs laid, less than a dozen will survive to maturity.   

      

 In summer, the toadlets complete their metamorphosis and hop out of the pond to begin their lives on land.  In this phase, it can be hard to tell them from crickets, and they are now vulnerable to predation from birds instead of bullfrogs.  Fortunately, even at this stage they secrete sufficient bufotoxin to repel many predators.

      

 Except in the breeding season, toads are mainly concerned with finding food and shelter.  They do not like the drying heat of the sun, which is why they are nocturnal and why they look for a damp, cool place to make their home.  Since gardens tend to be watered or irrigated, they naturally attract toads, who usually find a plentiful supply of slugs and other toad-appropriate prey.  If a toad settles into a spot and is undisturbed, it will not only remain but return, year after year, to the same location.

      

 Toads are excellent diggers and often excavate dens in soft soil or mulch – toads love mulch.  They dig out a cavity with their rear feet, appearing to sink backwards into the hole.  There they will rest during the day and emerge at night to hunt for food.  When the weather turns colder, the toads prepare to hibernate, either by digging out their den to a deeper level or by finding a more protected location.  There they remain until the warm weather of spring brings them out again to spawn.  It takes two or three years for a toad to reach breeding maturity, and if fortunate it may have another three seasons to live and reproduce.

       

So the toad lived in harmony and mutual benefit with the gardener for hundreds of years.  Unfortunately, changes in gardening technology have been at the expense of the toads.  While tilling and cultivating were carried on by hand, with spade and hoe or horse-drawn plow, these activities did not greatly endanger the toad.  However, a riding mower at full throttle with a speed-crazed teenager at the helm is another matter.  Lawnmowers, rototillers and weed-wackers all wreak carnage on the toad population.  In the garden, a toad's natural camouflage can work against it, making it all too hard to distinguish from a clod of dirt.

       

What to do?  Besides hiring a horse and plow?  First of all, simply taking care will save a great number of toads.. These creatures are alert to danger, with acute hearing.  They can tell when a weed-wacker is approaching the border where they are concealed in the overgrown grass or weeds.  So when you are using machinery,  be aware where toads are likely to be hiding, be alert to spot them, and give them a chance to hop out of danger.  Don't be in such a hurry to get the job done that you run over the toads in your way.

       

Another effective way to protect your toads is to provide them a shelter.  The classic method of making a toad house is to cut a toad-sized opening in the rim of a terra-cotta pot and set it upside down in the soil, preferably in a shady spot.  The unglazed terra-cotta absorbs water and keeps the toad house nice and moist and cool in the heat of the day.  It can be difficult to cut the opening without cracking the pot, however;  some people claim to have success with drilling pilot holes or using a tile saw.  I take the easy way out and simply prop up one edge of the pot with a couple of flat stones.  The toads haven't complained.

       

Some people enjoy providing more elaborate houses for their toads.  But many kinds of garden decorations and building materials can serve just as well as toad sanctuaries – flagstones, retaining walls, statuary.  Toads are not demanding.  A compost heap, a couple of rocks, a woodpile – any of these are likely to harbor a happy toad.  Last year, I found a small colony of them living contentedly in the deep, damp straw covering my potato patch.  They were not so pleased, however, when I raked away the straw and started to dig up the tubers.

The other great danger to toads is through the use of pesticides and other garden chemicals.  Look on the label of these products, and you are likely to see an environmental warning that they are toxic to aquatic organisms such as tadpoles. Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, even nitrogen-based fertilizers – any of these may be poisonous or harmful to amphibians if they contaminate the water in which they breed.  This includes chemicals applied anywhere that runoff can carry them into the pond.

       

But adults are almost as vulnerable as the tadpoles, even after they have left the water. The skin of a toad is permeable;  rather than drinking, it absorbs water by osmosis through the skin of its belly.  In doing so, it also absorbs any chemicals it comes into contact with.  While a toad shelter may provide some protection against direct application, these chemicals can still be deadly when the spray drifts onto the ground.  There is simply no doubt:  the more organic your garden practices, the safer it will be for toads.

       

There is one more thing you can do for toads:  make them a pond.  Without a body of water in which to spawn, toads can not breed.  The pond need not be overly large or even permanent, as long as it does not dry out during the spring and early summer, while the tadpoles are growing.  The ideal pond should have shallow sloping sides where the toads can enter the water.  Besides the toad pond here, I have a smaller ornamental pond elsewhere on my property, where for years I tried to attract toads until I realized that they did not care for its steep, straight sides.  [Small bullfrogs, unfortunately, had no such problem with it, leaping to and from the lily pads.]  There should be vegetation growing both in the water and along the margins of the pond to provide cover for the tadpoles and shelter for the mating toads, as well as attracting insects for them to eat.

       

If you build it for them, the toads will come.  And if you keep the water safe from contamination, they will reward you in the spring with delightful song.

       

Get Frogs & Toads to Eat Your Bad Bugs!

http://www.gardensalive.com

Q. Mike: We have problems with cucumber beetles and squash bugs. We've used organic sprays and hand picking without much effect, and want to avoid chemical insecticides. What can we do about these obnoxious critters?

---Kim in Norman, OK

Do you have a solution to a growing problem with mole crickets on our ball fields? The only answers I can find online involve heavy pesticides, and we try and put nothing on our grounds that would affect the water quality (we like to be able to eat our local seafood) or be harmful to anyone who may “eat grass” in the course of a ball game.

---Cecile; Carteret County Parks and Recreation; Morehead City, NC

I have had trouble with sod webworms in my lawn for a number of years….

---Bob in Pueblo, CO

What is the best way to control potato beetles? Hand picking is not feasible.

---Jim in Titusville, New Jersey

Last year I thought I had ladybugs in my garden only to discover they were Mexican bean beetles! They were so destructive; what can I do about them this year?

---Gwen in Hot Springs, NC

Slugs eat holes in most of my flowers, but I’m concerned about how to stop them because we have a dog. Can you recommend something? Thank you,

---Marsha in Massillon, Ohio

Gypsy Moth caterpillars have denuded our local oaks, pines, mountain laurel and even wild blueberry plants. What can I do to protect my landscape?

---Jim in Chatsworth, NJ

I have little red ants in my organic garden that like to bite. How can I get rid of them?

---Cindy in Central California (Bakersfield area)

Is there a way to control ants with natural organisms like beneficial nematodes? I have two dogs and don't want to use anything that will endanger them. Thanks,

---Bob in Earlville, Maryland (near the Chesapeake Bay)

       

A. Beneficial nematodes control pests like beetle grubs and flea larvae, unfortunately not ants. But all you have to do to stop them is drop the ‘nema’ and get with toads! Voracious predators of garden pests, toads (and frogs) are especially fond of ants.

       

Back when I was editor of ORGANIC GARDENING magazine, our researchers discovered that a single toad will eat tens of thousands of pests in a single season, typically consuming two to three times it’s weight in the above named creatures—plus flies, earwigs, grasshoppers, pillbugs and cutworms—every day. (Actually every evening, as that’s when toads are out a ‘hunting.) And toads and frogs are virtually the only beneficial creatures that eat cucumber beetles, a garden pest that makes itself taste bitter when it feeds on your cuke vines!

       

Attracting frogs and toads won’t harm the local water quality. In fact, access to clean water is one of their biggest necessities. The other is protection from pesticides. Because of their porous skin, frogs and toads (and salamanders and other beneficial amphibians) are helpless against toxic herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. So resolve to shun those nerve toxins and hormonal disruptors this Leap Year Day, February 29th; when conservationists are launching “the year of the frog” to try and raise awareness and stem the tragic decline in amphibian species. Do your part to help keep the ‘leap’ in Leap Year and get rid of your pests at the same time!

      

 (Note: Organic remedies like beneficial nematodes, corn gluten meal and the iron phosphate baits used to control slugs are perfectly safe for use around amphibians.)

      

 Now, toads are ubiquitous—they’re also everywhere; in every state in the union, often reaching deep into the heart of cities, especially cities with well-established park systems. To get these cute little amphibians to control your pest problems, let nearby areas go wild with plants that throw a heavy shade. Or build little toad sanctuaries by placing some bricks on the ground to support boards and then covering the boards with plant pots or soil, creating a cool, damp, dark little cave-like structure they can hide in during the day. If you choose to use those cute little terra-cotta ‘toad abodes’, be sure to keep them in damp, shaded areas; they become toad microwaves out in the sun!

       

You’ll also want to place water sources at ground level near plants having pest problems; birdbath saucers sunk flush to the earth work great for this. The toads will naturally migrate to the moisture when they come out at night and then eat the closest bugs. Rinse the saucers out once or twice a week to keep the water fresh and foil mosquito breeding.

There’s no need to relocate toads from a nearby park unless your garden is a backyard in the middle of a concrete cavern of a big city; and even then, they’re probably still around. Whatever you do, don’t release mail order, pet store or otherwise imported toads or frogs; such non-native species quickly become their own pest problem.

       

Frogs require a fairly large, year-round water source in which to breed. And they prefer to be alone in that water in the Spring, when their eggs and tadpoles are helpless against hungry fish. But such a pond or water feature is well worth the effort, as it will also greatly increase your toad population and attract hordes of desirable birds, butterflies, dragonflies and beneficial insects.

       

And its easy to prevent mosquitoes breeding in that water with a monthly application of BTI. A completely non-toxic natural organism isolated from soils, BTI prevents mosquito (and black fly) larvae from developing without harming fish, birds, or anything else.

Horti-Culture Corner

That afternoon the dream of the toads rang through the elms by Little River and affected the thoughts of men, though they were not conscious that they heard it.

Henry David Thoreau

How to Rid Your Yard of Toads & Their Holes

by Jkalal Assar, Demand Media Google

Toads contribute to the vitality of landscapes, provide valuable services in the yard, such as consuming pests, and serve as good indicators of the ecosystem – if the toads and frogs are healthy, most likely so is your yard. However, for most, toads have an unsightly appearance, croak too loudly and dig unappealing holes when burrowing. The most humane, effective method of getting rid of toads in your yard is taking them out of their comfort zone. That is, reducing their food supply and limiting their options for living areas.

1. Remove all woodpiles, unused planters, empty pots and collections of yard debris in your yard. Toads prefer damp, dark places to inhabit when not feeding. Removing the toads’ living spaces forces them to move elsewhere for shelter.

2. Fill any holes in your yard in winter with soil until it reaches 4 inches from ground level and tamp down firmly. Fill again until 4 inches from ground level and plug with sod if desired. If you decide not to plug the hole with sod, add soil until it reaches ground level. Toads burrow underground in winter and estivate, or enter a dormant stage, until the weather warms. Filling their burrows traps them inside or prevents them from entering the burrow.

3. Pull all weeds in your yard by hand or use a general-purpose herbicide containing the active ingredients 2,4-D or dicamba. Frogs inhabit groups of weeds and lie in wait for insects when feeding in the late hours. Herbicides also purportedly disturb toads’ endocrine systems, causing them to expire.

4. Remove the water from vessels such as fountains, birdbaths and pet bowls. This rids your yard of toads two ways: it removes a natural attraction – water – and reduces mosquitos, one of toads’ primary food sources.

5. Remove open dishes of pet food from the yard. Toads are omnivorous and eat dog and cat food if needed

Welcome the Least-Loved Critters

by GingerVaughan  Farmers Almanac

It turns out that there are some garden “pests” that you should welcome with open arms.  The Old Farmer’s Almanac All-Seasons Garden Guide explains how some other creepy creatures can be great garden helpers. So you may want to think again before sending ill-will towards them.

      

 PRAISE SNAKES: Garter snakes are most common in North America and are no threat at all to humans. Their backyard prey include slugs, grasshoppers, and small rodents, including the voles that chew bark off your fruit trees. They eat bullfrog tadpoles, because adults are too big to swallow. In fact, Adult bullfrogs devour garter snakes, so many that in some areas, garter snake populations have declined.

      

 ROMANCE A TOAD: These amphibians go to work when the Sun goes down looking for mosquitoes, slugs, sow bugs, flies, beetles, cutworms, and caterpillars. Toads have gotten a bum rap as the cause of warts. However, warts are caused by a human virus.

       

BRING ON THE BATS: Without bats, we would be up to our necks in bugs. From dusk til dawn, bats skim the skies with open mouths, devouring mosquitoes, wasps, flies, gnats, midges, moths, and beetles.  Bats are in deadly danger. Millions have been killed by a fungal disease called White-nose syndrome. Insects may be celebrating, but gardeners and farmers are not.

      

 SET YOUR SIGHTS ON SPIDERS: Spiders eat lots and lots of insects. These super predators spin webs to help catch their prey. Their webs are even used by Hummingbirds to glue their nests together.  Did you know, Spider silk reflects UV light, which warns away birds but attracts bugs.

Ginger Vaughan has worked for The Old Farmer's Almanac for over a decade. Like the Almanac she strives to be "useful, with a pleasant degree of humor."

The Final Word on Toads

What do you call an illegally parked frog?

Toad.

What do toads drink?

Croaka-cola

What kind of shoes do frogs wear?

Open toad sandals